The Girl Who Doesn't Exist
by mickeylizard21
Summary: Nicanya "Nim" Untklen is not from Earth but she has made it her home. She's been running from who she is- what she is- for years. After watching the Battle of New York her curiosity causes her to launch her own investigation to learn more about the Avengers tower- and the people living inside.
1. AN

A/N:

Hi everyone! This is one of my first Avengers fanfiction stories so please go easy on me.

I do accept constructive criticism but no outright bashing!

I update every other day or so depending on the length of the chapters.

No beta at the moment.


	2. Prologue: Eleven

Prologue: Eleven

Nicanya Untklen wove her way through the winding tunnels below the castle proper. SH carried no candle, no lantern. SHe relied solely on the count of her footfalls. Down the stairs and out of the torch light, continue for twenty-two steps, feel for right turn, turn right, thirty-seven steps, left, seventeen steps, left,... right, straight, skip one hallway, left, stop. Silence. SHe continued along the wall, her hand searching. There. Her fingers traced the chipped stone. FOur name were carved into the cold wall….SETH NIM TIDE NIRA… Blindly, Nim knelt below the names and found the rusted lantern and matches. With a quick strike of a match against stone the lantern glowed to life to illuminate the names in flickering warmth. They were crudely carved with a thin sharp point... SETH NIM TIDE NIRA… Nim Untklen pulled her wool cloak closer around her thin shoulders, feeling the damp chill. SHe startled as a shuffle echoed beyond the glow of the flame. Light footfalls near the young child until a slim figure detached itself from the gloom and kneels in the circle of light. Nim's elder brother, Seth, wears a frown too severe for his young face. He traced the purple bruise forming along his sister's jaw with chilled hands.

"I'll live" she told him in a small, exhausted voice. He seemed unsatisfied with her claim but nods and joins her in sitting. They sat in the quiet, enjoying having the time to sort their thoughts.

Eventually Seth broke the silence.

"We need to go soon"

"We need to be there at the coronation tomorrow" NIm argued back. It was a frequent disagreement detailing how to implement their plan to flee the castle and seek refuge far from their abusive father. Unfortunately their father was the prince, soon to be king, and their absence would be noticed quickly.

"Then the day after tomorrow. We go. Tide and Nira have gathered more than enough supplies. Everything is ready."

Nim dropped her blonde head back against the stone a rolled it to look at him. Their eyes met, determination meeting concern. "It's not guaranteed, brother. We've been over this. So many things could go wrong. Dad could want us around for the celebrations."

"Sister," Seth began, "He will be too drunk to tell which people are his friends, much less his children. All his attention will be on the food and drink." A pregnant pause followed. "We need to go." The staring continued until Nim glanced away.

"Yes, the day after the coronation. We go then." A grin split Seth's face at the princess's surrender. Nim continued "I'll let Nira know when she comes to get my laundry tomorrow. You tell Tide. Four o'clock?"  
"Four o'clock" Seth confirmed and chuckled. A weight had been lifted from his heart and he could breathe again. They would go. Nim would be free from their father's threat of violence. He himself wouldn't have to live with the fear of Nim not being there in the morning. They could live beyond the constricting walls, away from responsibility. Tide and Nira would no longer have to work day and night as servants of the royal family to earn barely enough money for bread and clean water.

They would go.

The coronation was held in the courtyard of the ancient castle. The entire town was invited and everyone took advantage of the opportunity to see the crown prince take his place as king. Many of them came to catch a glimpse of his young children the Prince and Princess, who were rarely seen on a normal basis. By evening the celebration was in full swing and by three in the morning the grounds were eerily silent. The servants had done their rounds and were now sound asleep. The guards drooping at their posts.

Seth awoke with a start. His chest was burning with a deep pain. He tumbled out of bed and onto the heavily carpeted floor, a desperate hand clutched over his heart. His mouth opened in a silent scream but he didn't dare make a sound lest he wake his father who wa dozing a mere three rooms over. The boy struggled to his knees and ripped the collar of his shirt down in search of the pain. As he did so something caught his eye. Eyes, round with fear, watched as a marking emerged on his right palm. When it had completely appeared the burning pain disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving the prince gasping in panic. There, on his right palm, was a curled and twisted arrow appearing as if someone had painted it with solid black ink. A symbol he was intimately familiar with. The mark of the Spirit People, a legend among his people. Only a legend, a child's tale. This was impossible. Seth's bowed head jerked up as a thought passed through his frantic mind. Nim. If he was to believe the legend- which he wa very much inclined to do so at this point- then as a child of the king his sister would also have this mark. And this meant danger. But howwas this happening?

The tale was true. Their mother had been right.

Who else is aware of this? Without another thought Seth threw on his travel gear and grabbed his stocked pack from beneath his bed. Slipping his cloak hood up and over his head to hide his face he snuck out the door and tiptoed down the hall. Nim's room was located on the other side of the castle, near the servants' quarters. Since their mother, the crown princess, had died their father's treatment of his daughter had taken a turn for the worse. King Renother detested his second born both because of her existence and the fact that while existing she had dared to be a girl.

NIm and Seth had been placed in the castle's soldier training program, Battleschool, at a young age. They were five and six years old, respectively, and since that age had been taught to protect, defend, and follow strict orders. King Renother made sure Nim's training was the most difficult in the School. He placed her in Seth's age group and with the boys who tended to simply beat her up for entertainment. Luckily for the princess his attempted abuse backfired on him and instead led to Nim being the most skilled female child in the School. However not even the Battlemaster dared to inform the king of this unfortunate information.

The prince weaved and ducked around the castle halls, avoiding patrolling guards with ease. When he reached NIm's room he didn't hesitate and pushed the heavy wooden door in, wincing as it creaked loudly before swinging into the room. Nim was sitting up in her bed. A candle flickered on the bedside table to reveal her studying her right hand intently, as if she didn't trust her eyesight. Her attention focused in on Seth as he entered. Their eyes met and held as they had a silent conversation. Nim was soon up and out of bed and at her closet, changing from her delicate nightgown into her leather traveling pants, a boy's shirt, heavy boots, her heavy winter vest, and cloak. She knotted her long hair on top of her head before covering it with a cap. As she dressed she questioned Seth.

"What about Tide and Nira?" she asked. Seth paused in his retrieval of NIm's pack.

"We need to get out now," he answered bluntly. He was terrified someone else knew the truth of what was happening to them and would hunt them.

At eleven years old Nim prepared to leave the only home she had ever known.

The castle towered above the inner city- a mix of marketplace and homes tucked amongst one another and framed by crooked cobblestone paths. The network spread out from the castle in a downhill wave that had a radius of about half a mile, halting at the edge of a fifty foot wall. This stone monster rose abruptly from the streets and was interrupted at regular intervals by thick square guard towers. The main road from the fortress on top of the hill wound down and met up with the great wooden doors, currently open to the outside world. It was the only entrance and exit.

Or that's what everyone believed.

Having secured her cap Nim took her offered pack from Seth's outstretched hand. A scuffle echoed from beyond the closed bedroom door and the siblings tensed before springing into action. Seth went first, sliding to the shuttered window and out onto the roof. As Nim followed a banging sound arose from the door and muffled voices could be heard just beyond it.


	3. Chapter 1: On the Streets

**A/N:**

 **Hello people!**

 ** **So a couple of announcements:****

 ** **For some reason the end (last sentence) of the prologue didn't get put in so I am adding it to the beginning of this one.****

 ** **and****

 **In this story's universe and after** _ **Captain America: Civil War**_ **it took awhile but Tony and Steve made up and everyone lives in the Avengers Tower in New York.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **The last part of the prologue:**

 _Having secured her cap Nim took her offered pack from Seth's outstretched hand. A scuffle echoed from beyond the closed bedroom door and the siblings tensed before springing into action. Seth went first, sliding to the shuttered window and out onto the roof. As Nim followed a banging sound arose from the door and muffled voices could be heard just beyond it. Guards broke through the door just as the siblings disappeared into the night._

 _4 years later (2012)_

The streets of Manhattan were trashed. It was one week after the Avengers saved the Earth from the Chitauri invasion. The government wasn't saying much, and the media didn't have much to go on but the fact that the assailants were aliens was obvious. Nim glanced around to assure herself no one was paying attention to the lone woman with a ripped backpack and Captain America sweatshirt with the hood covering her face. She shuffled through the rubble of the Walmart, searching for anything she could salvage. Workers and volunteers milled around, intent on their task clearing the destroyed foundation. Most of the fresh food was crushed and rotting beneath her feet but after awhile she found a few salvageable cans of chili. Stuffing them into her pack she picked her way out of the demolished warehouse and into a less impacted part of the city.

The media was going wild, posting images of the heroes of New York on every storefront. Asking questions and claiming government conspiracies.

" _WHAT ARE THE IDENTITIES OF OUR SAVIORS?"_

" _IS CAPTAIN AMERICA ON OUR SIDE?"_

" _ALIENS! THEY WALK AMONG US"_

Nim stopped in front of a still shot taken of an archer dressed in combat gear. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he pulled back an arrow, ready to fire. The word Hawkeye was typed in bold lettering below his heroic image. What ruined it was the pink hearts drawn around his head in a halo. Nim snorted and moved on. Yesterday the Avengers had gone public with their identities (well, codenames, no one knew who they really were) and the people of New York were fingerling so hard. The eighteen-year-old alien found it hilarious. She admired the men and women who stepped up to protect the nation but she also found humor in the way America was expressing its thanks.

 _2 years later (2014)_

Nim wandered down a back alley and climbed a rusted fire escape to the top of a _States Inn_ hotel near times square. An abandoned greenhouse sat to her right, to her left beyond the low wall encircling the roof space was a picturesque view of the mangled mess of Stark tower, the remaining A hanging at an angle. Nim entered the greenhouse confidently and switched on the lamp by the door. If one were to see inside they wouldn't think it to be a greenhouse at all. She had converted the space to a temporary safe house. Soft rugs covered the cement floor to keep the chill from getting to bare feet. A twin mattress, minus the frame, sat in the corner topped with a salvaged flowered bedspread and a hotel pillow. Bins lined edges of the room where the walls met the floor, filled with everything from cookies to notebooks to toothpaste.

The north wall was the most interesting. It was covered floor to ceiling in news reports, images, and maps, frequently connected by threads of pinned red yarn. One of the maps showed the sightings of each Avengers member since "the incident" with a different color pin for each member, most of which understandably focused around Stark Tower, however pins could be found all over the world map.

Ever since Nim found out about these people she had been researching them. Some of them obviously weren't completely human, and she wanted to know what they were and how they got here. This curiosity stemmed, of course, from Nim being different herself. Everyone knew Captain America's story, but what about the Black Widow or Hawkeye? Where did The Scarlet Witch come from? Is Thor really from Agard? If so, would she be accepted among Americans as an alien herself? After all the research she had done she was fairly certain none of the Avengers were Spirit People like her. But she wanted to know more. She wanted to know if the world would reject her for who- what- she was.

She was really perfectly okay with hiding. It wasn't so bad, she took _-stole-_ what she needed and in return she helped New Yorkers in any way she could. Mostly at night when no one could see a young woman with the strength of ten men and mad ninja skills beating the crap out of rapists and bank robbers. But she wanted to know what people would think of her, so she needed to know the heroes' stories.

Anyways a few days ago an idea had formed in her mind. A dangerous idea that left her heart thumping and her mind spinning. She had to know more about these heroes and she knew for certain the Tower held the information she wanted, no- _needed_ , to know.

She needed to talk to Tony Stark.

 _STARK TOWER_

"TONY! Where are my hearing aids!" Clint's shout echoed over the loudspeaker in Tony's workshop. Tony smirked and continued his work while Clint pounded on the door, dressed in his flannel Avengers pajama bottoms and a plain t-shirt.

"Just a sec bird brain!" he responded "I'm working on some upgrades for the team, you should appreciate my consideration!" Muffled cursing could be heard from behind the glass wall as Tony kept tinkering with the small devices. "Aaannnndd done," Tony announced before making his way toward his irritated teammate and opening the door. "Here, try these," he said and handed them over. Clint eyes the aids suspiciously. "C'mon just try them." Carefully Clint switched them on and put them in his ears. Slowly his eyes widened as the sounds of the tower reached him, the buzzing of the air conditioning and the squeak Tony's sneakered footsteps on the tile.

"Huh?" Tony grinned at his friend's response- wait did he just think of the archer as his _friend_ \- and nudged his shoulder. "No need to thank me," he added as the silence grew. Clint snapped out of it and nodded his head.

"I wouldn't want to boost your ego any, if we're not careful it will bust the roof off the Tower," he joked as he turned and made his way up the stairs to the elevator. "Wouldn't want to have to rebuild again." Tony snorted and joined him as they made their way to the common floor. Each of the avengers had their own floor for privacy but most days found them in the common area watching movies or challenging one another to a friendly game of darts, or even in the gym training together to stay in shape and in tune with each other's combat style. These training sessions made Tony nervous, though he'd never admit it. Ever since he had gotten Rogers, Barnes, Wanda, Wilson, and Lang cleared with his influence he had been monitoring Barnes closely through JARVIS's security footage. What he saw was a highly unstable time bomb with murder eyes that twitched every time someone other than Rogers got too close. During team training he would sit off to the side and watch, and honestly the billionaire was thankful he wasn't participating, he liked his current facial arrangement thank you very much. The former Winter Soldier was seeing a therapist regularly (at SHEILD's insistence) and had recently began to sound like, as Steve put it "the old Bucky". He would join in dinner conversations and make jokes to make each of the team members smile. But Tony could still see the haunted look he wore when Rogers wasn't looking. Not that he blamed him, the guy had been through hell, but it still set him on edge.

The elevator dinged and opened as they reached the common floor and Tony made a beeline for the coffee pot sitting on the kitchen counter which was, blissfully, still half full. It was only six in the morning, but Rogers and Wilson were already back from their morning run. They sat at the table and Wilson watched, still somehow amazed after living with them for so long, as Steve inhaled a ridiculous amount of sausage, eggs, and fruit, his own plate barely touched. They looked up as the two entered the room and said a polite 'good morning' before returning to their breakfast.

"Too early" Clint responded and headed back to his room. Virginia "Pepper" Potts emerged from the elevator a second later and gave everyone a smile before crossing the room to hand a file to Tony, who clutched his third coffee of the day to his chest possessively.

"I need you to go over this before your meeting with Fury at one o'clock," she commanded, always straight to the point. She was already dressed for the day in a stylish white blouse, pencil skirt, and high heels. "And remember, you're making an appearance on the work floors today. JARVIS predicted a twenty-percent boost in efficiency in inspired employees. And Tony?" Tony didn't respond, his eyes already scanning the papers she had handed him. Pepper took the file back to regain his attention.

"Huh? What?" he asked distractedly. Pepper sighed.

"Remember to downplay the dramatic act, alright? This isn't a visits from Iron Man it is a visit from Tony Stark."

"Well, we're the same person, so, isn't it technically a visit from both of us? I mean me? Look, don't worry about it I have everything under control," he assured her but Pepper just raised an eyebrow, handed the paperwork back, and returned to the elevator, yelling over her shoulder.

"No dramatics, Tony!"

Rogers and Wilson chuckled at the interaction from their seats at the table. Tony rolled his eyes before grabbing his coffee mug and the file and heading back down to his workshop. It was going to be an long day.


	4. Chapter 2: In the Tower

**A/N:**

 **The public doesn't know about Bucky being the Winter Soldier, or even still being alive. They also don't know he is in Stark Tower.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Previously on the_ _ **Girl Who Doesn't Exist**_ _:_

" _Remember to downplay the dramatic act, alright? This isn't a visits from Iron Man it is a visit from Tony Stark."_

" _Well, we're the same person, so, isn't it technically a visit from both of us? I mean me? Look, don't worry about it I have everything under control," he assured her but Pepper just raised an eyebrow, handed the paperwork back, and returned to the elevator, yelling over her shoulder._

" _No dramatics, Tony!"_

 _Rogers and Wilson chuckled at the interaction from their seats at the table. Tony rolled his eyes before grabbing his coffee mug and the file and heading back down to his workshop. It was going to be an interesting day._

 **Now:**

Nim strode toward Stark Tower with her head high, weaving her way through the early morning commuters. Her hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail and she was dressed business casual in a button up shirt covered by a soft blue sweater with her tight black slacks tucked into her shiny new brown work boots. Her sweater had a Captain America shield on it. A brown leather backpack hugged her shoulders and two coffees occupied her hands; a folder was tucked neatly under her arm. She blended in. She had been busy the previous night, collecting the last items essential to _mission: infiltrator_ as she liked to call it. It made her sound professional, at least in her head. The clothing had come from a Nordstrom Rack warehouse just outside of town, her prime picking spot for things that wouldn't be missed. Her pack contained what any normal person's work bag had: a laptop (a bit beat up, sure) notepads, pens and pencils, her old flip phone, and a turkey wrap for lunch.

All week she had watched the Tower, studied the workers filtering in and out the door- how they entered how they left, what they left with- studied the security system- all automated by the AI known as JARVIS except for a few guards and the head of security known everyone called Happy. She had watched the people inside the building- especially Pepper Potts- as they buzzed about their business. The walls of her makeshift camp on the roof of The States were now covered in the Tower's schematics and its residents profiles. Nim was no genius but she was creative and had taught herself to survive in America by spending a considerable amount of time studying their culture and technology. Nine years after she and her brother came through and five years after he had since gone back Nim could operate in the world how she best preferred, unnoticed.

As she approached the building she breathed deeply to calm her racing heart. _I have a plan_ , she reminded herself, _this is nothing compared to what I've been through_. She joined the crowd to stream through the doors with the rest of the worker bees. The inside of Avengers Tower was amazing. Just beyond the entrance was a maze of security scanners, beyond which was bulletproof glass wall. On the other side of the wall was the organized chaos of an open work space interspersed with desks and workstations divided by low and high walls. It was a normal office space on steroids. Coffee and espresso machines could be found at avery fifth desk and touch screen computers and tablets, paperwork, blueprints, sketches, and spreadsheets filled the few empty surfaces. Workers bustled around consulting one another or filling their empty coffee mugs. Nim's eyes widened in amazement. It was like a beehive. Everyone had their own part to contribute to the functionality of the company. And this was only part of it. To Nim's right was the elevator leading to the employee break room, the higher-up's workplaces, and further up to the Avengers' floors. And at the top the infamous Tony Stark's personal suite and workshop. Where the magic happened.

Acting like this was where she belonged Nim went straight to the elevators while most of the crowd joined the workers behind the glass. Only a few well dressed individuals remained. The blonde allowed herself a smirk. Despite her age she blended in with her caffeinated tired stance. She couldn't pull off their blank stares.

The elevator pinged and Nim was the only one to exit. There was a break room before her packed with stocked mini fridges and comfortable lounge chairs circled around a coffee table and facing the largest flat screen TV she had ever seen. She kept her chin high and navigated past the kitchen area to a line of roomier offices lining the wall, to the one on the far right that stated _Virginia "Pepper" Potts: CEO._ When Nim had learned Pepper's office was so low in the building she was certain she had gotten something wrong. However from her weeks of surveillance she learned that Miss Potts liked to be in the thick of things.

Nim knocked politely and Pepper's voice told her to enter. She did just that and glided over to the oversized desk.

"Good morning, Miss Potts, here is your double shot dirty chai tea latte and today's schedule. I'm Nim Hall by the way, I'm your new personal assistant, nice to finally meet you," Nim gave her a warm smile. Pepper blinked at her.

"I-I don't have an assistant," she responded, confused. Nim's smile widened.

"Mr. Stark thought it would be a good idea if you had someone to help you out, he's seen how hard you've been working lately and wanted to surprise you. Oh! But don't tell him I told you, he thinks you'll refuse an assistant if you know it was his idea. He said you prefer to do most things yourself, I'm just here to help out with the little things." Slowly Nim's new boss returned her smile and a slight blush covered her cheeks.

"Oh, well, that... sounds exactly like Mr. Stark," she drew the schedule toward herself and took a look. "I guess I would benefit from someone looking out for me," she took a sip of her coffee and nodded in approval and shook hands with Nim. "Yes, ok. It's nice to meet you, Nim. And please, call me Pepper."

For the rest of the morning Nim followed Pepper around to learn her routine and Pepper explained how things work along the way. She gave her a tour of the bustling ground floor and the upper offices and introduced her to Happy, who a bit upset he hadn't known she was coming, but Nim won him over with a firm handshake and an innocent smile. Afternoon came and with it the moment Nim had been waiting for. Tony Stark A.K.A Iron Man made an appearance. He strode into the higher-up's break room with his security entourage just after the lunch hour to give a slightly self-absorbed speech on the difference between trying your best and actually succeeding. Nim watched her boss barely manage to keep a straight face. When he was finished the crowd erupted in cheers and Pepper rolled her eyes, clapping along. As the workers cleared the two women approached Stark who pulled of his sunglasses to rub his eyes in token exasperation.

"No press in the workplace," he spoke directly to Nim, "It ruins the flow."

"I'm Nim, Miss Potts' new assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark," she replied and held out a hand. A look of shock crossed his face before he could hide it and then he shook her hand.

"Wow, thought I'd never see the day," he mumbled, "Pepper with a Pepper of her own. Well, nice to meet you Pepper's Pepper." Nim hoped he wouldn't question Miss Potts about it. Her alibi only held up if each thought this was the other's idea. Luckily he changed the subject. "I see you're enjoying the merchandise," he gestured to her sweater.

"Well my grandfather would always tell me stories," Nim shrugged, "His mom grew up with him in Brooklyn."

Stark looked impressed.

"Name? What's your family name?"

"My last name is Miller, but my great-grandmother's was Barnes before she married. My great-uncle was Bucky Barnes," she made sure to sound casual. Stark got this look on his face like he swallowed a sour orange, then it turned to thoughtfulness, and finally a smug smile took over. If Nim was honest, it made her wary, made her wonder what could have caused that reaction.

"Is that so? Tell you what, join us for dinner tonight and I can introduce you to a few friends of mine," he spoke as if he was offering the world.

"Really? I mean, me? Are you sure?" Nim fangirled.

"Yes, I'm sure Cap would love to meet his old buddy's progeny. Pepper's would you be a dear and bring her along, family dinner tonight at seven? Be there," he replaced his sunglasses and spun around to march to the elevator. "Be there!" he shouted before the doors closed behind his bodyguards.


	5. Chapter 3: Problems

**A/N:**

 **So I realized in the last chapter I gave Nim two last names: Hall and Miller. That was obviously a mistake the 'fake' last name she is using is Hall, just for future reference. Like I said no beta on this story sorry!**

 **This is how I picture Nim's crime-fighting outfit, I DON'T OWN IT OR THE AVENGERS OR ANYTHING RECOGNIZABLE.**

pin/318700111112512829/

 **Enjoy!**

At six forty-five pm Nim returned to the tower dressed casually in a long sleeve blouse, black jeans, and her combat boots. Pepper greeted her at the elevator, introduced her to JARVIS, and told the AI to take them to the avengers communal floor. On the forty-seventh floor the doors slid open to reveal the avenger's living room. Off to the side by the kitchen area sat a big circular dining table overflowing with… chinese take out. Classy. The TV was on in the sitting area to the left, and voices were joking and laughing before someone paused the movie and all eyes turned to the newcomers.

Nim stepped out of the elevator but froze under the scrutiny as seven pairs of eyes focused on her. Earth's Mightiest Heroes stood to greet them. Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, the Falcon, Dr. Bruce Banner, and a muscled man with long dark hair watched them exit the safety of the elevator. They looked her up and down, evaluating her. Nim couldn't help but be nervous, even with her cover intact. She was meeting people like her, that were _different,_ but used their strange abilities to defend innocent people. She respected perhaps more than the civilians because she knew how hard it was to be a freak, but still ignore the critics and judgement and help the people no matter how they hurt you. Stark spoke first.

"Welcome! Everyone, this is Nim Hall, the girl I was telling you about. Nim, everyone."

Nim forced a weak smile and nodded to them. Captain America was the second to snap out of it. He stepped forward to shake her hand with a friendly grin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss," although he was much bigger than her his voice was calming in Nim's ears and she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding and prepared to put on a show.

"The pleasure is mine, Captain, I've heard so many good things about you. It's an honor to meet the man my grandfather told me stories about as a child," she responded in an awestruck tone of voice. He flushed red at the praise- _did I just make Captain America just blush?_ \- and shrugged anxiously.

"Please call me Steve. This is Sam, Natasha, Bruce, Clint, and you know Tony. And this is… um… well this is Bucky" he gestured to the others who greeted me in turn.

Bucky. Bucky Barnes. She recognized him now, his hair was longer and his features almost looked pained but it was him. But that was impossible because Bucky Barnes was dead, he fell from the train over fifty years ago. But there he was, eyeing her curiously.

Well shit.

Nim snapped her mouth shut when she realized it had been hanging open in shock. Bucky gave her a shy smile and stepped forward to shake her hand with his gloved one. He was wearing gloves indoors, odd.

"I'm guessing you have some questions," he commented in his old Brooklyn accent. 'Some questions' didn't even begin to cover it. This could blow her cover and leave her trapped in a room full of highly trained hostiles.

Shit shit shit.

"I didn't know Becca's son had any children," he continued to fill the silence as it grew awkward.

"Oh, well, my dad moved to california as soon as he could to get away from the city and we traveled a lot. I can't imagine there's much on us," she lied smoothly. "How- why do- um…" Luckily the Captain- Steve- saved her from her stuttering.

"Why don't we sit down and we can explain?" he suggested and Nim agreed. They sat around the overflowing table and casual chatter sprung up. Nim sat across from Bucky and steve with Pepper to and Tony to one side and Clint, Sam, Bruce, and Natasha on the other. Slowly the chatter died and they explained to her how Bucky had survived the fall but had been captured by Hydra. She could tell they were gentling the violent details. They took turns speaking, adding their side to the story, and sounded so much like a family it made Nim feel like she was intruding. She was a fake and these wonderful people were treating her like they would a close friend. They were swapping war stories and teasing each other. Bucky seemed to be a bit of an outsider but he still appeared comfortable, watching her whenever he didn't think she was looking. Watching his sister's great-grandchild, his only remaining family. Wow she was an asshole. She didn't belong there around that table with their family.

"So Nim, that's an unusual name you've got. Were you named after the game or the monkey?" Clint asked, a teasing grin on his face. Nim looked down at the napkin in her lap self-consciously. She didn't know what either of those references were to.

"Well um, I-" she took a deep breath. All eyes were on her. She tried to get her breathing under control as her guilt threatened to consume her. She didn't have a family. She didn't deserve a family. She couldn't do this to these people who had taken her in without question, she treated her as an equal. "I-" Her hosts seemed to notice her distress and backtracked quickly.

"How about your dad? How's he doing? Is he still traveling?" Natasha questioned, honestly curious. At the mention of her father Nim flinched back, remembering her real father. Her breathing picked up even more and she started sweating, she could feel it drip down her back.

"Hey are you-"

Nim stood abruptly, rattling the dishes, and ran to the staircase off to one side of the elevator. Startled shouts sounded behind her but she couldn't hear over the rushing in her ears. She couldn't do it, she was too weak, she couldn't even run a simple recon mission.

Shit shit shit.

She shot down the stairs taking two at a time all the way to the ground floor, forty floors down. She hit the lobby and shot out the door into the nightly traffic.

When she reached her rooftop haven she changed her clothing with shaking hands and left the greenhouse in her nightly attire. Dressed in black from head to toe she ran across the rooftops, making jumps impossible for any human to land. She ran until her breathing evened out and the cold numbed her hands. What seemed like hours later she halted her marathon on a rooftop overlooking central park. She closed her eyes and let the cool breeze fill her lungs and empty her mind.

She would need to go a different route in gathering the information about the Avengers, perhaps breaking into the Pentagon. That sounded easier than facing any one of them again. The thought of Bucky's curious eyes made her heart hurt. She shook it off.

She was a warrior, a soldier, a loner. Not a little girl who needed coddling. She decided she didn't like how the Avengers made her feel.

Nim didn't show up to work the next day or the day after that. She wasn't really getting paid and she felt she had totally messed up that entry point so she saw no need to make herself suffer. She knew it would get Tony and Pepper talking and they would figure out she wasn't who she said she was but she couldn't find it in herself to care. They would assume she was a crazy fan girl, tighten security, and move on.

Nim slept the days away and fought through the nights. She stopped a bank robbery and a kidnapping, then robbed a grocery store for her weekly meals. Ironic right? A girl had to eat, though. She figured a bit of food here and there wouldn't cause any harm. It's not like she could get a real job, after all she didn't exist.

Until five days after the dinner at the Tower. Then suddenly she did exist. Suddenly she was a missing seventeen year old girl from Brooklyn with her face plastered on every big screen in Times Square. Nim stared at the television in the coffee shop in astonishment as a newscaster pleaded that anyone with any information at all inform the police, and that Mr. Tony Stark was personally funding the investigation as the child is a close friend's daughter.

 _That tricky bastard_ , Nim growled to herself. Now she had all of New York on her heels. But why did Stark care about some fan girl, they should know by now she wasn't really Bucky's great-grandniece. But the public didn't know about Bucky being alive. They must think she would talk.

It was almost ten at night and Lee Anne's Cold Brew was the only twenty four hour coffee shop in her neighborhood. She was a regular there as she normally craved caffeine before her nightly adventures. Nim's eyes shifted to the counter as Lee Anne eyed her before drifting surreptitiously into the back room, no doubt to make a phone call. Nim sighed and on her way out she grabbed a loaf of pumpkin break from the pastry stand.

Stupid traitor Lee Anne.


	6. Chapter 4: In Deep

**A/N:**

 **Hi everyone,**

 **If you get the chance please let me know what you think of the story so far. Plot suggestions are welcome and appreciated; I have a general idea of the story line but let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see!**

 **Enjoy!**

Nim woke with a start as the ground rumbled beneath her mattress. The walls of the greenhouse were light, indicating it must be at least midday which would be the middle of the night for her. She groaned in annoyance and got up look outside. The earth shook again as she reached the door and flung it open. The sight before her was confusing to her sleep-muddled brain. Avengers Tower could be seen in the distance and it was on fire.

Wait, what.

The Tower was on fire; smoke poured from a hole in the side of the building. Police sirens raged in the distance as flames licked the sides of the tower, climbing up the outside. Nim cursed and wrestled on her suit. She jumped off the fire escape and ran toward the scene. As she neared she began to make out a fight around the base of the building. Luckily all civilians had cleared the area, no doubt running away screaming. There were no gawking rubber-necks to be seen. Captain America stood suited up among his teammates (sans Bruce), fighting off people dressed in black combat uniforms with a red symbol on their shoulders. It appeared to be a skull with six tentacled curving out from the neck. There had to be at least fifty of them and the Avengers weren't doing well.

As she watched Falcon swooped down to take out a group approaching Black Widow. They seemed to expect him, however, as they latched onto his metal wings and pulled him down to crash against the asphalt with a long screech of metal.

Nim winced and wasted no more time in joining the fray, whipping out her twin mythril knives from her utility belt and launching herself at the nearest enemy. She slashed the man across the back and kicked him to the side, launching onto another with her gathered momentum. She tackled him to the ground and rolled to land in a crouch. To her surprise the first man she attacked came at her again, the only sign of her previous attack a rip in his suit through which she could see a glint of metal. She spun him around to get a better look and that's when she realized the wound was not dripping blood, but oil.

They were robots.

Extremely human-like robots with flesh covered anatomies but robots nonetheless. They were toting an assortment of firearms and were very skilled in using them. Nim knocked a pistol out of her face before the hand could pull the trigger and slid behind one of the abandoned cars in the street.

There was no more time for observations.

She slashed and weaved through their masses to reach the team at the center who seemed to be drowning under the onslaught. She caught the Captain's eye from his sheltered place around the corner of a building and he nodded to acknowledge her presence before flinging his shield in an arc to crush three robots before it bounced back to his arm.

The Avengers had seen her alter ego KnifeSlinger once or twice on the news and accepted her as another vigilante, nothing more, but right now they would take all the help they could get.

It was awhile later when an angry roar deafened them and the Hulk came thundering into the fight. Nim jumped back as he careened toward her position and missed a fist to the chest by inches. She heard the Captain frantically speaking into his comms unit.

"No I didn't call a code green...yes…" he directed his attention to Nim and his eyes widened. A gun sounded off from behind Nim and she whirled to deliver a roundhouse kick to the 'bot sneaking up behind her. The Hulk, while destroying a large portion of the street lights and surrounding businesses, seemed to be turning the tide. Soon they were taking down the last of the robots, none of which slowed their attack or tried to flee.

Iron Man and Falcon landed nearby as those on the ground limped over to them. Nim turned to leave, her job done, when she felt a throbbing in her left shoulder. Bewildered, she turned her head to see that in the chaos of battle she hadn't noticed she had been shot in the shoulder. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was beginning to feel the pain. Ruby blood pulsed out of the rip in her suit in time with her heartbeat, trailing down her arm to drip onto the asphalt. The injury was so close to her heart if it had been another three inches to the left she would have been dead before she knew what had happened.

"KnifeSlinger's hit," Widow's flat voice snapped Nim out of a haze and she whirled back around to face the approaching team members. Black Widow studied her shoulder before meeting Nim's eyes, her gaze blank. Everyone else's emotions ranged from concerned to curious, Captain America seeming the most bothered by the turn of events.

"That looks bad, you need to get patched up," he told her, a frown gracing his features. He stepped toward Nim and she held up a knife in warning; he immediately retreated and held his hands up in surrender. Bucky, who had been watching her warily, stepped forward to stand with the Captain.

Nim didn't dare speak in fear they would recognize her voice. How had things gone south so quickly? A few hours age she had been dreaming in her bed and now she needed to give the Avengers the slip or face being compromised. They would ask questions she wouldn't want to answer, possibly even lock her up as a danger to the public. Maybe give her a psych evaluation? She knew she wouldn't pass one of those.

"She's been inconveniencing the police for quite awhile now, I'm sure they'd appreciate us bringing her in," Stark had popped his face mask and joined the conversation. "Don't tell me I'm the only one curious to see who's under the mask."

Nim's gloved fist tightened around the knife. The blood continued to drip from the bullet wound. Her eyes flickered from one figure to another and she backed toward a side alley she could see in her peripheral vision. She took a breath and bolted toward the alley but she was slow from blood loss and Wilson beat her to it, blocking her path. They were talking again but she was in full panic mode now and couldn't focus on their words.

They couldn't find out who she was… _what_ she was; a dangerous freak.

Strong, fast, trained, uncontrollable.

Like them but broken.

Broken broken broken- _SETH NIM TIDE NIRA. Her father's shadow throwing a glass bottle at her head- Being forced to spar at battle school until her legs gave out- Fighting with her brother about whether to go back home or stay away- stay safe Seth- Running away- Running- Always running-_

She dropped to the ground.


End file.
